Long-term music adjuvant therapy enhances the efficacy of sub-dose antiepileptic drugs in temporal lobe epilepsy.

AIMS: Noninvasive music adjuvant therapy shows great potential in improving seizure control when combined with routine antiepileptic drugs. However, the diversity of previous music protocols has resulted in disparate outcomes. The optimized protocol and features for music adjuvant therapy are still not fully understood which limits its feasibility. METHODS: By applying different regimens of music therapy in various temporal lobe epilepsy models, we evaluated the effect of music in combination with sub-dose drugs on epileptic seizures to determine the optimized protocol. RESULTS: A subgroup of kindled mice that were responsive to music adjuvant therapy was screened. In those mice, sub-dose drugs which were noneffective on kindled seizures, alleviated seizure severity after 12 h/day Mozart K.448 for 14 days. Shorter durations of music therapy (2 and 6 h/day) were ineffective. Furthermore, only full-length Mozart K.448, not its episodes or other music varieties, was capable of enhancing the efficacy of sub-dose drugs. This music therapeutic effect was not due to increasing cerebral drug concentration, but instead was related with the modulation of seizure electroencephalogram (EEG) spectral powers in the hippocampus. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that long-term full-length Mozart K.448 could enhance the anti-seizure efficacy of sub-dose drugs and may be a promising noninvasive adjuvant therapy for temporal lobe epilepsy.

Evaluation of the hepatoprotective and antioxidant activities of Rubus parvifolius L.

The hepatoprotective and antioxidant activities of the n-butanol extract of Rubus parvifolius L. (RPL), a widely used medicinal plant, were evaluated. Results demonstrated that RPL extract possessed pronounced hepatoprotective effects against carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4))-induced hepatic injury in mice, which was at least partially attributed to its strong antioxidant capacity. Treatment with RPL extract markedly attenuated the increases in serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels caused by CCl(4) intoxication. It also significantly prevented the decrease in superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and the increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) content of liver tissue. Meanwhile, histopathological changes of hepatic damage were also remarkably ameliorated. Phytochemical analysis based on high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) revealed the presence of various phenolic compounds, including caffeic acid conjugates, ellagic acid glycosides, and flavonol glycosides, which might be responsible for the hepatoprotective and antioxidant activities of RPL.

A new friedelane type triterpene from Euonymus hederaceus.

Euonymus hederaceus is distributed widely in the south of China; its stems and leaves have been used as folk medicines to treat many diseases such as renal deficiency and chronic diarrhea, traumatic injury, and abnormal menstruation. Chemical investigation of the leaves and stems of Euonymus hederaceus resulted in the isolation forthe first time and characterization of a new friedelane type triterpene with a molecular mass of 472 and molecular formula of C(30)H(48)O(4)by high resolution mass spectrometry. The (1)H-NMR (13)C-NMR and DEPT135(0)spectra matched the characteristic data of the proposed triterpene skeleton.The compound was finally identified as 28-hydroxyfriedelan-3-one-29-oic acid on the basis of spectroscopic evidence, including two dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance as well as its IR spectrum.

Novel bioactive dammarane caffeoyl esters from Celastrus rosthornianus.

Three new dammar-type triterpenoid caffeates (1-3) were isolated from the stalks of Celastrus rosthornianus Loes. Their structures were established through various spectral studies as 3beta,20(S),24(S)-trihydroxyldammar-25-ene 3-caffeate (1), 3beta,20(S),24(R)-trihydroxyldammar-25-ene 3-caffeate (2) and 3beta,20(S),25-trihydroxyldammar-23(Z)-ene 3-caffeate (3), respectively. The three new compounds (1-3) showed strong antitumor activity against the human cervical squamous carcinoma cell line with IC (50) values of 6.4, 5.3 and 6.5 microg/mL, respectively. The biological analyses of 1-3 and their hydrolysates 1a-3a indicated that the caffeoyl group could increase the bioactivity.

[Direct identification of Ophiogon japonicus (Thunb.)Ker-Gawl. from its confusable varieties by second derivative FTIR spectroscopy combined with statistics].

In order to establish the theory and method for the identification of Ophiogon japonicus (Thunb.)Ker-Gawl. of traditional Chinese herbal medicines and its confusable varieties, second derivative FTIR spectroscopy was used combined with statistics. Samples were collected directly by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectra with OMNI-Sampler. Then through converting FTIR spectra of the samples into second derivative spectra by derivative spectra software, Ophiogon japonicus (Thunb.)Ker-Gawl. could be identified from the confusable varieties with statistics. The result shows that the second derivative FTIR of Ophiogon japonicus (Thunb.)Ker-Gawl. and its confusable varieties are different, which differ greatly in 2 000-650 cm(-1) range in second derivative FTIR spectroscopy. The Ophiogon japonicus (Thunb.)Ker-Gawl. and its confusable varieties can be identified by identifying the inner layer parts of the cuticles of samples by second derivative FTIR spectroscopy with statistics directly, rapidly and accurately.